Nigeria Content Online

A bird sanctuary is the latest addition to the tourism bouquet
of Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, Calabar, Cross River State.

Tinapa, located on the fringe of the Calabar River, is home to
various species of birds that perch all year round on the branches of trees in
the environment.

“Tinapa ecosystem offers a variety of birds and nature tourism
opportunities, hence it’s a route chosen by a high diversity of birds. By
visiting the Tinapa bird route, you will not only see amazing biodiversity, but
also help to maintain the ecological integrity of one of the world’s most
biologically diverse places,” Bassey Edem, the Managing Director of Tinapa,
said.

Unique habitat

Conservation experts say Tinapa is one of the few remaining
habitat for pelicans, herons, swallows, thrushes, woodpeckers, humming birds,
cuckoos owls and hawks in our country. Quite a good number of migratory birds
also fly through the area twice a year enroute the Abu’evam hills in Boki Local
Government Area of Cross River State, where they spend some time before going
back to Europe and America.

“This bird sanctuary indeed shows how rural host communities can become
active bird habitats defenders while tangibly benefiting from biodiversity, a
true challenge for many bird areas around the world,” Mr Edem said, adding that
the expansion of leisure at the resort to include bird-watching “involves
training local people to be able to deliver high value and low impact birding
tourism. The Adiabo people will tell you about those birds in a cultural
context.”